The Elder Scrolls Mods Wiki:Manual of Style
This is the wiki's Manual of Style, please don't make edits to the wiki unless you are ensuring the article follows this style guideline. Section Order Mods All modification articles should follow this particular layout: * Infobox - This is added through the template and MUST be at the start of the article. * (main) - The article lead. Summarise the mod and what it adds. Don't add a section heading! * Description - Describe the mod: what does it add, how long will it take etc? This includes a feature list obtained from the mod page * Compatibility - Is the mod fully compatible with other mods? If not, list the mods that it isn't compatible with. * Requirements - Does this mod have any requirements (eg other mods, DLC, latest version) for use? * Locations - List all new locations added by the mod, in a bullet point list and separated by a Level 3 heading if multiple location types are added. * Items - List all new items added by the mod, in a bullet point list and separated by a Level 3 heading if there are multiple items added (Weapons, Armour, Books, Spell Tomes). * Quests - List all quests added by the mod, in a bullet point list, separated into appropriate headings. * Trivia - Any useful trivia notes that may help other users and don't fit in one of the above headings. Quests All quest-based articles should follow this particular layout: * Infobox - This is added through the template and MUST be at the start of the article. * (main) - The article lead. State the quest name, what mod adds it and what the player is doing on the quest. * Objectives - What are the quest objectives? These should be written verbatim from the journal log * Walkthrough - Write a detailed walkthrough of all steps of the quests. The walkthrough must be written in past tense and use terms such as "the Hero of Kvatch will" or "the Dragonborn may come across". Do NOT use terms like "you will find" or "you should do this" in articles as it is incorrect to use such terms in the wiki. * Trivia - Give any necessary trivia points. * Bugs - List any known bugs with the quest, whether they can be fixed and if so, what the fix is. Characters All character articles should follow this particular layout: * Infobox - This is added through the template and MUST be at the start of the article. * (main) - The article lead. State the location name, where it can be found and what mod it is part of. * Background - Optional. If there's any background information for this character, state it in chronological order (earliest information to most recent). If possible, information is preferrably referenced to with tags! * Quests - What quest(s) is this character involved in? Are they an enemy or ally? * Trivia - Give any necessary trivia points. * Bugs - List any known bugs with the character and whether they can be fixed and if so, what the fix is. Locations All location articles should follow this particular layout: * Infobox - This is added through the template and MUST be at the start of the article. * (main) - The article lead. State the location name, where it can be found and what mod it is part of. * History - Optional. If there's any lore given by the mod for this location, give a background overview of that lore. * Enemies - List any enemies that appear within the location, if applicable. * Quests - List any quests that take part in this location, in a bullet point list with a link to the quest article. * Trivia - Give any necessary trivia points. * Bugs - List any known bugs with the character and whether they can be fixed and if so, what the fix is. Items All item articles should follow this particular layout: * Infobox - This is added through the template and MUST be at the start of the article. * (main) - The article lead. State the name of the item and what mod adds it. * Location - Where can it be found? If a character gives it, state the character that provides the book. If it's part of a quest, state the quest that it's involved in. Books All book articles should follow this particular layout: * Infobox - This is added through the template and MUST be at the start of the article. * (main) - The article lead. State the armor name and the mod it is added by. Also state where can it be found. ** If there are multiple locations of the book or it is involved in a quest, place location information under an "acquisition" heading. * Contents - A verbatim text version of the contents of the book or note in italic form. There should be NO links within the contents section Armor All armor articles should follow this particular layout: * Infobox - This is added through the template and MUST be at the start of the article. ** Some armor pieces are mods of themselves. Please don't use in such cases! * (main) - The article lead. State the armor name and the mod it is added by. * Acquisition - State where it can be found and how the player obtains it. * Quests - Optional. If the armor piece is the outcome of a quest, give a brief summary of the quest here. Shouts All dragon shout articles should follow this particular layout: * Infobox - This is added through the template and MUST be at the start of the article. * (main) - As this type of article only applies to Skyrim, the lead is automatically added by the infobox. * Usefulness - How good is the shout? Does it have an advantage for specific races? In what situations can it help the Dragonborn. * Locations - State the locations of each word wall for this shout and whether each is part of a quest. * Quests - Optional. If some or all word walls are part of a quest, state the quest and a summary of said quest. Spells All spell articles should follow this particular layout: * Infobox - This is added through the template and MUST be at the start of the article. * (main) - The article lead. State the name of the spell and what mod adds it. * Acquisition - Where does the player acquire the spell? Is it part of a quest? * Usefulness - How good is the spell? Does it benefit certain characters more than others? * Trivia - Any useful trivia notes about the spell. Active Effects All active effects articles should follow this particular layout: * Infobox - This is added through the template and MUST be at the start of the article. * (main) - The article lead. State the name of the active effect and what mod adds it. * Acquisition - Where does the player acquire the effect? Is it part of a quest? * Usefulness - How useful is the effect? Does it benefit or harm the player? Writing style * All articles should be written using General American spelling (aka American English). * Articles should be written in 3rd person and use phrases like "the Dragonborn can find this" or "the Hero of Kyatch will have to solve a puzzle": if an article is written to refer to the reader (eg "you can find this" or "we were able to find"), it was not written in 3rd person and needs to be rewritten. * Large paragraphs of text in articles should be avoided where possible. Shorter paragraphs are easier to read and are more concise for readers of the wiki. Articles containing walls of text should be fixed to ensure readability. * Only link to something once in an article (this excludes the infobox). Do not link to every single instance as it makes articles impossible to read. WikiText style * Things like falskaar and falskaar are pointless, only Falskaar should be used. ** In the case of pages containing undesirable words (mainly brackets), it is appropriate to use alternative display text. * Do not bypass redirects using things like Vernan, make use of the redirect properly with Vernan. ** More information about why redirect bypass is bad can be found here: Wikipedia:Redirect#Do not "fix" links to redirects that are not broken * The preferred form for headers is header title : this makes it easier to distinguish when editing pages, rather than being part of the text. * Do not use level 5 headings in articles, as they cannot be edited without editing the previous heading and can't be distinguished as a heading at all. * is a magic word for use in templates. If you see it in use in actual wiki articles, please add Subst: to create so that the article displays the appropriate text on the page. * Links to TES Wiki should be written in the form display text here, other forms with templates or using w:c:tes are incorrect and should be changed. * When using galleries, include hideaddbutton=true in the parameters of : this prevents Image policy violations by the addition of bad images. Common "improper" style changes * Do not go adding last names to links unless there is a valid reason to do so (the character's full name has not been used earlier in the article). Full names should not be abused to bypass redirects. ** Example: Selonius the Apothecary in places where Selonius is appropriate. * Do not make edits that do absolutely nothing to change the appearance of the page when it is rendered, such as adding or removing a space between paragraphs, or adding underscores in spaces when including an image onto an article. This does nothing except add pointless edit revisions to the page history and does not improve the wiki at all. ** It should be noted that edits of this nature by experienced wiki editors to follow the style guidelines are not considered disruptive. * Do not replace words just because you do not know their meaning. Sources * This policy document was inspired by the Manual of Style used on Narutopedia. Category:Policy